Oil purifier and dilution remover



May 19, 1931. A. M. BABlTcH 1,805,553

OIL PURIFIER AND DILUTION REMOVER Filed Marenl 28, 1927 /L FEO/vt UER/EATING SYSTEM gmento'v Patented May 19, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ABRAHAM nn BABITGE, oF FLINT, MIGHIGAN, AssIeNoa 'ro A c SPARK rLUG ooMPANY,

F ELINT, MICHIGAN OIL PURIFIER ANI) DILUTION'REMO'V'ER Application filed March 28, 1927. Serial No. 179,018.

This invention relates to apparatus for thepurification of lubricating oil and particularly to a design suitable for use upon internal combustion engines to clean the engine oil supply by removing foreign particles and diluents such as fuel and Water. It has heretofore been proposed to pass the oil through a distillation chamber heated by the exhaust gases and in this manner accomplish the removal of liquid diluents. In order to remove foreign particles I have combinedwith such a system an oil lter of conventional type so that the distillation and filtration take place in the same chamber. This insures that even in the coldest weather the oil will be of sufficiently high viscosity to render the A lter eective. p

With the systemabove described I have also combined means for Ventilating the crank case. This I have accomplished by applying suction to the distillation and iltration chamber to remove vaporized diluents, and by connecting this chamber to the crank case vapors therefrom are drawn through the chamber preferably in contact with the returning oil effecting further evaporation of diluents. At the same time the crank case vapors carry their own content of diluents which is thus removed from the crank case prior to condensation and mingling with the l crank case I have preferably provided the return conduit with cooling ins. To insure thorough heating of the oil in the 'purifier' I have provided heat radiating fins extendingl inwardly from the walls of the still. To control the heating of the o ill I have provided a valve in the conduit. connecting vthe exhaust manifold with the heating jacket and form of a cylindrical casinghaving a conihave connected this valve with the usual throttle valve in such manner that at closed y throttle, there is a maximum flow of exhaust gases to the. still and at wide open throttle there isa minimum flow of exhaust gases to the still. To remove distillates from the still I have connected it with anexhaust gas operated venturi preferably located in the conduit through which exhaust gases are discharged from the still. Obviously if desired, the venturi may be otherwise situated and may be operated by the fan blast; or, if preferred, intake suction may be used to remove diluents,

I have pointed out above the component parts of my improved system. Obviously various of these parts may be omitted, and the remainder may be combined in dierent ways. l However, I prefer the complete system as herein set forth.

Figure 1`is aV vertical section through a portion of an internal combustion' engine showing, somewhat diagrammatically, my invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

I have indicated at 4a portion of a con-4 ventional automobile engine having the usual cylinders vand pistons, and a crank case indicated at 6. The crank case is provided with the usual oil filler'tube 8. In Figure 2 I have shown the usual carburetor 10 which supplies combustible mixture to the c linders through riser 12 and the usual mani old, not shown. The customary throttle valve 14 is provided in the'riser to control the ilow of 'IISl -mixture to the cylinders.

My oil purifying. apparatus comprises a distillation and filtration chamber 16 in the cal bottom, and'surrounded by a heating 'jacket 18 ofcorresponding shape. Member 20 serves as a cover for the assembly which is held together by'bolts passing through overlapping iianges on the casing and acket and through the cover. The cover 20 likewise supports the filter element 21 which is preferably of the well-known A-C type, described and claimed in the application of chases w. McKinley, serial Number 93,94%100 i,

filed March 11, 1926, now Patent No.

1,651,400, granted December 6, 1927. In this type of filter, oil is supplied to the interior of a coiled bag at the center of its-convolutions through a suitable fitting such as shown at 22 to which oil is supplied by means of conduit 24 connected either directly or indirectly to the pressure side of' the pump. Conduit 26 extends upward into the bottom of the filtraton chamber. At its lower end the conduit communicates with oil filler tube 8 the outer end of which is tightly closed by cap 27. rlihe end of conduit 26 which projects into the chamber 16 is preferably provided with a series of perfora'tions to permit the passage of puriiied oil into the conduit and thence back into the crank case.

The heating jacket is supplied with heating medium, preferably exhaust gases, through conduit 28`in communication with the main exhaust conduit. The hot gases pass upwardly about the still and are discharged through conduit 30 which may lead to the usual muiiler. Adjacent the point of connection with the jacket the conduit 30 is formed to provide a venturi 32. A passage 34, of relatively small cross-section estabi lishes communication between the venturi and the upper portion of the distillation Chamber 16.

To control the application of heat to the jacket l have provided a butterfly valve 36 in the conduit 28 and have connected the operating means for this valve with the operating means for the throttle valve 14 by means of link 40. This connection is so made that as the throttle opens the valve 36 closes. By this means when the engine temperature is high as when it is running with wide open throttle the fiow of heat to the still is correspondingly reduced; and, conversely when s little fuel is being consumed, the throttle being substantially closed, valve 36 is open permiplting a maximum iiow of gases about the sti To insure thorough heating of the oil in the still I have provided annular heat radiating ribs 44 pro ecting upwardly into the distillation cham er. rIhese ribs impede the flow of oil into conduit 26 and insure that it is thoroughly heated before it leaves the n passing through the filter the flow of oil is retarded so that the heating time is lengthened thereby insuring better separation of Lacasse `haust operated venturi 32. Owing to the low pressure thus created in the distillation chamber 16 crank case vapors are drawn up through discharge conduit 26 into the cham- S0 ber and pass od through conduit 34 with the distillation. rlibe method of regulation of the application of heat to the still has been described. s.

Various modifications of the construction have been indicated above and it is obvious that many others are possible in practice as suggested by the scope of the appended claims. I

I claim:

1. in an engine having a lubricating system including a crank case, the combination of a distillation chamber, means for supplying oil from said system to said chamber, a conduit for returning purified oil from the 0FA chamber to the crank case, an oil lter in said chamber and in the path of flow of the oil,

and a'suction connection for withdrawing vapors from said still, said conduit being of suiiicient size to permit the passage of vapors from the crank case into the chamber.

2. The combination of claim 1, said sueytion means comprising an exhaust operated venturi.

3. The combination of claim 1, and means for heating the chamber comprising a jacket about said still, a conduit for leading exhaust gases to the still, a conduit for the discharging of gasses from the jacket, and said suction means comprising a venturi arranged in said discharge conduit, and a connection from said chamber-to said venturi.

4. An internal combustion engine having a lubricating system, a crank case, an exhaust conduit, an intake conduit, a throttle valve in said intake conduit, a distillation chamber, means for conducting oil from said system into said chamber, a conduit for returning purified oil to the crank case, a'conduit for leading exhaust gases about said still, means for withdrawing diluents from said still, a throttle valve in said last named conduit, and means connecting said throttle valves causing the firstto open as the second closes, and vice In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ABRAHAM M. BABl'l'CH. 

